I don't think that's the part he was inquiring about- as I recall, the earlier scene (where Betsy walks dreamily by Scorsese) was the cameo Scorsese had planned to include, so it's plausible that there was some kind of hidden meaning within it.

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pmLocation: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city

matrixschmatrix wrote:

I don't think that's the part he was inquiring about- as I recall, the earlier scene (where Betsy walks dreamily by Scorsese) was the cameo Scorsese had planned to include, so it's plausible that there was some kind of hidden meaning within it.

Yes, I figured that Scorsese filmed his "Hitchcock" cameo in the scene where Betsy enters the campaign office well before he realized he would end up playing the jealous husband role later in the film (after the actor he had originally cast had an accident). I'm sure he never would have included himself in the earlier shot had he known he'd be acting in the later scene.

Since this was a fairly low-budget production, I suspect that when Scorsese felt he wanted more extras in a shot, members of the crew would help out; hence, a crew member wearing a Columbia Pictures t-shirt is told to turn the t-shirt inside out and walk through the scene. I noticed there are several times when an anonymous passenger enters the cab during montage or linking shots and it always seems to be Director of Photography Michael Chapman! "Quick, just get in the shot - we have to keep moving" is probably something Scorsese said a lot during this shoot.

Re: The Columbia shirt guy, I figured it was a case of a "run-and-gun" scenario. But the fact that he was in the same shot as Scorsese made me wonder for (apparently, longer than) a moment. I mean: the dude could've put a different shirt on. I knew the backstory regarding the backseat moment, the other cameo just always made me wonder.

Another thing about this Blu-Ray: the thing sounds great. The score is really clear and full; giving some of those snare hits that extra power. It's pretty impressive and benefits this film whose score really adds to the atmosphere.

I haven't seen it yet, but doesn't Scorsese have a sizable role in Kurosawa's Dreams? He's clearly someone comfortable in front of a camera, given the number of documentaries about movies he narrates and appears in.

Yeah, that's Steven Prince- as I understand it, it was a pretty open secret that he was the actual drug dealer for the set in general and Scorsese in particular. Scorsese did a short documentary about him, American Boy, which is both really interesting and in many ways more unsettling than Taxi Driver (if only because there are a lot of glimpses of Scorsese himself coked out of his mind.)

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pmLocation: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city

matrixschmatrix wrote:

Yeah, that's Steven Prince- as I understand it, it was a pretty open secret that he was the actual drug dealer for the set in general and Scorsese in particular. Scorsese did a short documentary about him, American Boy, which is both really interesting and in many ways more unsettling than Taxi Driver (if only because there are a lot of glimpses of Scorsese himself coked out of his mind.)

If there is anyone who didn't need to be on coke, it would be Scorsese All the same, Scorsese's performance in the film is a good one as was his choice to put Prince into the gun dealer role - it's inspired casting that gives the film an unexpected punch just where it needs it.

That's the thing though, when I watched the BD the other night (hadn't seen the film in a while), I was struck by what a good performance that was. Weird.

If I remember correctly, Pauline Kael wrote that his cameo 'burnt a small hole on the screen' because of its intensity. And she's right.

That's pretty much spot on - her entire description of his performance is:

Pauline Kael wrote:

Scorsese himself is sitting on the sidewalk when Travis first sees Betsy, and then he returns to play a glitteringly morbid role as one of Travis's fares - a man who wants Travis to share his rancid glee in what the Magnum he intends to shoot his faithless wife with will do to her. As an actor, he sizzles; he has such concentrated energy that this sequence burns a small hole in the screen.

Finally had some time to sit through the 1980s Criterion Commentary track with Scorsese and Schrader. Very informative and entertaining. I wish Scorsese did more commentaries. It also had the unintended consequence of making me hate Bringing Out the Dead even more, and I didn't think that would ever be possible.